SAN ANGELO—Even after 70 years the annual Texas A&M AgriLife Ram Performance Test is not averse to change, organizers said.

Instead of the traditional field day and sale of some of the top Rambouillet rams that successfully completed the test, breeders this year opted to join the 2017 Texas Sheep and Goat Expo, a statewide industry event now in its third year.

The expo, conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and a number of industry partners, will be Aug. 18-19 in the Spur Arena on the San Angelo Fairgrounds, 4722 Grape Creek Road.

Dr. Dan Waldron, AgriLife Research geneticist at San Angelo and the test coordinator, said the sale of the performance test rams will serve as the expo’s grand finale at 2 p.m. Aug. 19.

Dr. Dan Waldron, Texas A&M AgriLife Research geneticist at San Angelo, looks over a set of test rams. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Steve Byrns)

“The Rambouillet ram breeders with animals in the ram test decided to offer some of their rams for sale at a new sale to be held at the popular Texas Sheep and Goat Expo,” Waldron said. “The animals being offered represent the high end of the rams completing the test, so numbers are limited.”

Because there aren’t enough rams available for two sales, he said the traditional field day and sale of performance-tested rams will not be held in 2017.

“We are confident that this change in the sale will expose a different group of sheep producers to the progress these breeders have made in selecting sheep with predictable performance,” Waldron said.

He said all the rams offered in the sale will have met the test’s performance standards and passed inspection by a breeders committee. The sale floor price has been set at $500 per head.

For more information on the ram sale, contact Waldron at 325-653-4576, d-waldron@tamu.edu, or Dr. Reid Redden, AgriLife Extension state sheep and goat specialist at San Angelo, at 325-653-4576, reid.redden@tamu.edu.

For more expo information, contact Marvin Ensor, AgriLife Extension state program leader for agriculture and natural resources at San Angelo, 325-653-4576, m-ensor@tamu.edu.

For more information regarding news from the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, please contact Maggie Tucker at maggie.tucker@tamu.edu or (979) 845-1542.